Scotland
Hello, we are thinking of doing the north coast 500 in April. We would be towing a four berth caravan and stopping for a week on several sites going round. Would this be safe to do and if so, what way round would be best?
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Safe? In what way? I believe the locals are quite tame now.
Do it whichever way round suits you but bear in mind the midges are worst in the west and they can appear at any time from May onwards.
There are several threads on the same subject but you may well have trouble finding them.
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Totally safe in April PG !!
The Locals won't yet have been stirred up by the Speeding Hordes, indeed I have only ever found them pleasant & welcoming. And, as Tinny says, the midges tend to awaken in late May to September and are found mainly by trees and water in the West. Even then it's only the Females of the species that go for BLOOD -- it's to help them in the egg producing department !
Not sure how big your 'van is { I've seen some four-berths of small size and others about three times that
!!} But if the Clubs guide says "Not Suitable for C'vans" then take it as Gospel 
Went down one in my Dukortoo and only just made it 
Come back & tell us how you got on, please
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Hello thanks for your replies. The reason I said safe was because of the roads, some of which I believe to be single track. I know lots of Scottish people all of which are brilliant, so I think we'll be ok there. Our van is 7.3mtrs in length without the car. When I've been reading about touring this area everyone seems to be tenting or motorhoming, that's why I was asking if anyone had done it with a caravan.
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As a previous frequent traveller around the North, be aware the top road is single track with passing places for some distance. Plan ahead, look ahead and stop to let following traffic pass. Take your time with numerous overnight stops. There are quite a few commercial sites, plus club and CLs but don't expect the standards to be as high as Home counties. Don't just stick to the 500 wander to Altnahara Loch Shin etc, as the scenery away from the coast is even more spectacular. Take the chance to fill the tank at Supermarkets as local garages are very expensive .Most likely to meet continental and OAP vaners in April.and not so many motorbikers. Also that early some venues etc will still be closed. Midges at your time whichever way round you go should not be a problem. Unlike the old days the route is very popular and the locals get a bit intolerant as the season progresses due to disruption, heavy traffic and like everywhere else anti social behaviour.
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Did it last year with tourer .Stayed near inverness for 3 days and did the section by car.moved to Altnehara for 7 nights.did section by car.Much easier doing sections by car alone although more miles.A lot of the roads are single track so drive accordingly.If you meet a logging lorry on a single track when you have the van on the back the driver will often have reversed to a passing place before you have even selected reverse gear!There is a lot of scenery so solo car is much easier.(in my opinion)
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The further north you go the more single track roads there are, and the less traffic there is. Width seems to be the same whatever the category. We realised that the difference was in the number of passing places - A roads have far more than C roads. Don’t expect the large volume of traffic on single track A roads in Scotland that we have on A roads further south! I think your idea of staying a week in one place at various points is pretty good. I think there is one part that is a bit iffy for large caravans and motorhomes so it might be worth checking out the NC500 web site for more info. Your going to have a great trip - the north coast blew me away, I had no idea it was so beautiful.
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April and May is a good time to go, especially if calling in at the spectacular gardens at Inverewe. I have never had midge problems at this time of year.
Do not view the NC500 as a route that has to be followed. View it as a region to be visited in several bites. In this sense Sweeteman's approach above is far the best advice with a large caravan.
Go to a few good sites, for example CAMC sites at Inverness, Brora, Dunnet Bay and Kinlochewe and a perhaps a commercial site around Ullapool and tour from there. You will see much more and can stop at all those amazing view points bays and beaches as you please.
All of these locations can be accessed with no one track roads and you can cover the four corners of the region from there. For example from Kinlochewe you can drive down to Torridon and Lochcarron and north to Gairloch. If you look at the map you will see all the best roads flow from Inverness to the ferry ports and these are the routes to take.
Forget taking the caravan over Bealach na ba, though it is a fun car drive if quiet. Also beware of the A832 from Kinlochewe to Gairloch and Ullapool. Most of it is superb two track, but there are a couple of miles of nasty one track that need great care, from the head of loch Maree from Loch Bad an Sgalaig to Kerrysdale, with small passing places along a cliff. Otherwise its a detour back to Achnasheen, Garve and the A835 to Ullapool. Lots of single track on the A832 from Laxford Bridge to Betty Hill, which is tiring with a caravan. I would tour this from Ullapool, or a charming CL at Elphin if its still open, handy for Coigach peninsular and Aciltibuie.
Sadly the popularity of the NC500 has brought some very bad manners indeed and folks who do not get one track roads and see it as a test of virility. We now have time trials and endless close convoys which do not work on one track roads. My advice is keep one empty passing place between you and the vehicle in front. Stop to let commercials and school run mums by. Remember the irritated car behind might be a medic, a vet or a carer that has job to do. Warmest waves will be received when you time your arrival at a passing place to let oncoming vehicles by without anyone stopping.
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You mentioned Time Trials & Convoys, DaveJ.
The Convoy I met last time was hundreds of bleep bleep pedal cyclists heading from Lands End to J O'Groats via Altnahara just as yours truly was leaving for Maragowan. It took me, 3/4 of an hour to get from the club site to the first cross roads. 80% just cycled past in single file, 10% said Thank You and the rest resorted to Cyclists Anglo Saxon !
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We have never "done" Scotland, but caravanning friends who have tell us that, whilst it may be good for motorhomes, they found the need to travel significant distances to reach places of interest made this a bit of a chore. That, and risk of bad timing for the midges, has put us off.
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We've visited most years since the early 90s with both caravans and MHs. Midges can be largely avoided with a bit of planning and, for the most part, the roads are fine if you apply a little common sense. Of course, there’s a need to travel long distances as it’s a huge country but isn’t travelling part of the holiday experience?
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We've done this route several times with caravans and have never had a problem.
All you need is to plan ahead and to be sensible. It has got busier over the years but it is still perfectly do able.
Lots of sites and CL's, even more if belonging to C&CC, some lovely private sites as well.
Enjoy it it's well worth it.
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Scotland is pretty much midge free April and May.
Land mass of Scotland is 60% that of England. Coastline is about 56% of Britain. Population is 5.4 million with 3.5 million in the central belt compared with 50 million in England. So it is a pretty spread out place. There are not many roads but they are rather long. Gretna to John o' Groats direct is 360 miles. Via the west coast it's well over 560.
Do not try to see Scotland in one trip. Better to pick one or two spots with a caravan and drive to places, for example CAMC Kinlochewe in spring and CAMC Brora, any time. These two points connect via Dingwall and that is the route we take to do both.
Ferry routes from Inverness are the fastest roads. Most roads radiate from Inverness and that is the best way to get to places in the north.
I meet many people on their first trip to Scotland who tell me they have been up the left hand side, across the top and down the right. Generally they have a glazed-over appearance and seem to remember few places along the route.
Caravanners who a pick few stops and and motorhomers who take weeks with short drives and many stops generally take back better memories and go home refreshed.
Its not a competition. Piece at a time. Keep coming back. The economy needs you. But I would say that wouldn't I?
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I meet many people on their first trip to Scotland who tell me they have been up the left hand side, across the top and down the right. Generally they have a glazed-over appearance and seem to remember few places along the route.
Depends how many weeks they take.
Much difference between 7 days and 7 weeks0 -
The East side of Scotland is virtually midge free, so if it gets bad in the West it is easy to move over. Don't try to do a lot of mileage, just take your time as there is so much to see and do. Main problem on 500 route reported to me by Visitors is Motorbikes and not seeing them coming or overtaking at speed. Enjoy your visit as I am sure you will want to come again. Haste ye Back.
David www.perthshirecl.co.uk
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I think a lot of folk underestimate both the size of the country and the time it takes to travel once away from the motorways/dual carriageways. As a consequence, they try to cram too much in.
There’s far too much to Scotland to fit into one trip and even a 6-8 week tour won’t let you see all of it in any depth. I think we’ve ‘done’ most of it now but there are still bits we’ve hardly touched and that’s doing it in easy stages over nigh on 30 years. These days the islands are getting our attention.
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I think by all means try out a tourist route if you're visiting for the first time but if you're just heading north there'll be much missed en route. So branch out and take a look in other directions if you can. Before the NC500 became the thing to do, many stuck to western routes and never saw the east coast or the borders etc. One thing for sure, if you haven't been to Scotland, put it on your "to do" list.
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Generally they have a glazed-over appearance and seem to remember few places along the route.
Depends how many weeks they take.
Or how many whiskies!
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It is 10 years this year since we last had a Scotland trip with our caravan, going up the west coast then across to Inverness and back down the east. We went mid June and had good weather for the full three weeks although it was blooming cold when we were at Culloden. Thankfully it was also pretty well midge free .
The only real disappointment was that before we went we found out that it was essential to book every one of the 7 club sites that we stayed at. It was a good job that we did as every one was full each night. We were hoping that we could do the same as in France and just turn up and get a pitch. Although we had a fantastic time with stunning scenery it is perhaps this need to book that has put us off going again in more recent years. (In 1992 when we first went to Scotland, up as far as Brora, we didn't book anywhere, using club sites only).
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We basically do this every year. One week in Kinlochewe and one week in Brora.
Route is best done anti clockwise as best bits are north and west coasts. Forget towing on these sections you are not there to stress and much is one track with what is busy traffic. Applecross it's illegal to take caravans over, and top hairpins probably impossible with larger van.
Best pick couple of bases and day trip Distances are not great and makes stopping for coffee etc so much easier, well lets be honest possible. Cafe car parks mainly not designed for caravans
It also means you can do the diagonals - Lairg to Durness etc awesome scenery. Plus superb tweed shop in Lairg
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